Printing-plate blank and method of making



- July 31, 1928.

R. C. ISAKSEN PRINTING PLATE BLANK AND mmon OF MAKING Filed Aug. 2; 1926Patented July 31, 1928,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT c. ISAKSEN, or rLUsHINe, NEW YORK, AssIeNon, BY MESNEAssieNMEN'rs,

'ro ADDRESSOGRAPH compan or cnrcaeo, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION or DELA-WARE.

PRINTING-PLATE BLANK AND METHOD OF MAKING.

Application filed. August 2, 1926. Serial No. 126,443.

This invention relates to the manufacture of printing plates for use inaddressing machines and the like and its object is to enable a pluralityof plate blanks to be made in i one operation and handled as a group, toprovide increased production and to reduce the cost of manufacture.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a metal strip.

Fig. 2 shows the strip cut into several plate blanks and also shows thegroup of blanks as cut moved from cutting to distributing position.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a single plate blank.

These printing plate blanks are adapted to have printing charactersembossed thereon and it has been customary heretofore to 20 make the.blanks singly, which requires a separate operation for each blank andindividual handling thereof. My invention rovides means whereby aplurality of blanks may be cut from a single strip and 25 then moved asa group away from cutting position to a position Where they may bedistributed, whereby a plurality of blanks, instead of a single blank,may be produced in each cutting operation.

I have selected for illustration a strip 4 from which five blanks 5 of aconvenient size may be cut. This strip is placed in a machine which isproperly supplied with cutting dies for separating the strip into platesand the invention consists primarily in cutting the strip alongirregular lines to produce interlocking projections 6 in the edges ofadjacent blanks so that after the strip is cut the blanks will beinterlocked and remain in group formation against displacement in theplane of the blanks so that the group of blanks may be moved away fromcutting position, indicated at the left in Fig. 2, to distributingposition, indicated at the right in Fig. 2, without disconnecting ordisassembling the several blanks. When the blanks are moved todistributing position they may be arranged over hoppers or otherreceptacles in which the blanks may be deposited by gravity, or they maybe arranged in position to be disconnected by applying pressure upon theface thereof and dlstributed in stacks, or they may be separated anddistributed in any other desired manner. It will be understood that todisconnect the blanks it is only necessary to displace them bodily in aplane normal to the plane of the face of the group of blanks. Theinterlocking projections may be made 1n various forms but I have shownthem dove-tailed because this will prevent disconnection of the blanksby movement in a direction lengthwise of the group, as well as bymovement of separate blanks side-wise in the group and lengthwise of theblanks. It s not new to provide a blank with edge proections but suchblanks have been made heretofore, so far as I know, by stamping eachblank singly from the end of a strip and without employing theprojections to make interlocking or interengaging connect1on between twoor more blanks, and never before have these blanks been made withdove-tailed projections, so far as I am aware.

I do not limit myself as to the number or as to the size of the blanksto be cut from a strip nor as to the exact form of the proectlons and Ireserve the right to make all such changes as fairly fall within thescope of the following claims.

I claim:

I. The herein described method of making printing plate blanks, whichconsists in cutting a strip along irregular lines to divide the stripinto a plurality of blanks, the irregular lines of cut forminginterlocking pro ections on the blanks to hold them in interlockingengagement as they are cut, moving the plurality of blanks bodily as agroup from cutting position to distributing position, and thenseparating the blanks.

2 A printing plate blank having a plurality of dove-tailed projectionsat opposite edges thereof and spaced apart between 1ts ends.

3. A printing plate blank having a plurality of notches in oppositeedges thereof forming dove-tailed projections.

4:. A printing plate blank having a plurality of dove-tailed projectionsas thick as the intermediate part of the blank and spaced apart betweenthe ends of the blank.

5. A plurality of printing plate blanks arranged edge to edge, and aplurality of arranged edge to edge, and projections at dove-tailedprojections at adjacent edges of adjacent edges of the blanks spacedapart the blanks interlockingly holding the blanks 10 between the endsof the blanks and intertogether in strip formation against relative 5locking the blanks in strip formation against movement laterally orlongitudinally of the relative lateral movement. strip formation.

6. A plurality of printing plate blanks ROBERT C. ISAKSEN.

